Knight of the Wind
by SonicGirlGamer
Summary: Summary to Chapt. 1: "Uh...can I help you?" the confused blue hedgehog asked. "I apologize for my rude behavior," the mysterious lady then removed her grip on Arthur's wrist, "but I'd like to have a talk with you in a more private place if you wouldn't mind that is."


**KNIGHT OF THE WIND CHAPTER 1  
**Chapter 1: The Mysterious Lady

* * *

_The almighty Black King rules over Camelot, a beautiful and prosperous kingdom. He was a fair and powerful King who protected the people who lived in his kingdom. With a beautiful kingdom to care for, the Black King hailed a powerful government, he had the help of the Knights of the Round Table that were handpicked by the king himself and the townspeople to enforce justice and ensure peace throughout the land so the kingdom of Camelot would continue its era of prosperity..._

* * *

A young yellow fox was happily strolling back to his shop carrying new material in his arms that he had bought from merchants not too long ago. The young boy was excited because he would soon be able to forge wonderful swords once he returned to his shop. He was a brilliant blacksmith, so brilliant in fact, that the Black King would summon him to forge swords whenever needed.

While heading back to his blacksmith shop, he noticed some posters on the stone walls he occasionally passed by. He stopped in his trail to take a better look at them. They were WANTED posters—not that there was anything special about them because officials of the Black King posted them up often for the citizens to keep watch of the criminals.

From the looks of their condition, the posters were recently up, but nobody ever really paid attention anymore, with the exception of feeling sympathy for those who were victims of the crimes. But, there were just too many of the villainous people to keep track of keeping an eye on them all, so nobody ever really cared about the posters anymore.

The kitsune continued onward to his home, his shop. It was located on the outskirts of the manors and fancy lifestyles that the nobles lived. A giant wall was what separated the different classes apart. The Black King said that it was to help keep privacy from both sides of the classes and to prevent any controversies. The Black King had offered the young blacksmith to move upward, but he declined, saying that he was more comfortable with the people he'd grown up knowing. In addition, the location wasn't much of a hassle either; it was closer to the castle than when it used to be, and he could buy a variety of useful tools and materials from merchants in the noble district that the merchants in the lowerclassmen didn't have—not to offend them or anything, but it was the whole truth.

His stroll down the road was the same as usual, until he spotted a group of people gathered around something in front of an antique shop. The twin-tailed fox tilted his head in curiosity as he walked over to the group and made his way to the front, politely pushing his way through. When he reached his destination, he blinked when it was another WANTED poster. This time, it was one that grabbed his, and the other townspeople's, attention. The most eye-catching part of the poster was the abnormally large price placed on the wanted criminal, and the kitsune started to wonder why until his eyes landed on the picture of the accused.

The blacksmith's ears twitched as the townspeople conversed about the poster and the price nailed to the vigilante's head. They mostly consisted of people saying that it would be impossible to catch him since he was fast and didn't stay too long in the place where he'd attacked, and, most of all, they loved him because the hooded man was their hero.

"Who is this guy?" asked a traveler from another kingdom.

"He is our hero! The most wonderful man that this God forsaken kingdom could offer!" said a fellow townsman, who clearly supported this `hero`. "He'd saved my family and countless others from the wrath of the Black King."

"What do you mean he's a hero? He hasn't done anything but cause trouble to the Black King and his Knights of the Round Table! The King can't even do a thing without that freak ruining his plans to further spread Camelot's greatness!" exclaimed a woman who was standing next to the kitsune.

"What are you saying?! If he hadn't stopped the Black King's plan to just wipe off our side of the village, we'd be gone by now!" shouted the man from before. Not too soon later, a fight broke out in the town square about the hooded vigilante.

Hearing enough from the townspeople, he wasn't going to be pulled in to such unnecessary violence. The yellow kit rushed the rest of the way to his shop. He needed to tell his friend the shocking news. The blacksmith would usually manage the shop on his own, but he had the occasional visitor, who was his best friend, help him manage it whenever it was busy or when he was busy forging, fixing or sharpening a weapon or shield of some sort.

He barged into his shop nearly panting. "Arthur, you wouldn't believe what I just saw posted up in Camelot Square!" he exclaimed as he ran up to a table in a corner to put the newly bought materials down before turning to a teenaged blue hedgehog who was dozing off from the lack of company to keep him entertained.

The said being, Arthur, leaned on the counter as he sat on the stool. "Hmm...? What did you see, Smithy?" Arthur asked as he groggily turned to look at his friend.

The kit, called Smithy, pouted. "How many times do I have to tell you? Don't call me 'Smithy', it makes me sound like I'm a little kid," Smithy protested.

Arthur just grinned, "But you are a kid, Smithy, a smart one at that and a talented blacksmith." The kit could only sigh frustratingly as he nearly forgot what he wanted to talk to Arthur about.

"Anyway, there was this poster that I saw in town. The Black King has issued for _your_ capture!" Smithy exclaimed. "And there were some people in town that had an argument about you being their supposed hero and others saying that you're in the way of the Black King! A fight even broke out about what you're doing." His aqua eyes showed concern for his older friend.

Despite Smithy's obvious worry and concern, the older hedgehog didn't pay much attention to it. He was actually excited. It was about time that he had caught the Black King's attention even though he didn't have to do a lot anyway, but he wasn't really expecting the King to issue something like capturing him. He believed that this was where the real fun was going to start. Sure he had a particular goal to accomplish from doing these stunts with the government, but he couldn't avoid playing around with the King either. Arthur loved it when he managed to piss him off.

"Me? A hero? Now that's something to laugh at because they all seemed to hate me when I first started this whole escapade," Arthur chuckled. "Well now, I may be helping them in some ways, and the support is good, but I just have the feel to do all this alone."

The young kitsune let his head drop as he saw the look of excitement on Arthur's face. There was no way he could be able to tell his friend how dangerous the situation could get, but Arthur was too carefree for his own good. Smithy's concern for his dear friend grew the more reckless Arthur became when he dealt with the matters of the Black King.

"Arthur..." Smithy called out, almost whiningly as he tried to get his friend's attention. Luckily, that did catch Arthur's attention.

"What?"

"Just be careful out there Arthur, especially when you're going out in that outfit..." Smithy muttered.

The older of the two could only smile softly. He appreciated his self-proclaimed brother's concern for his well-being, but nobody really knew who he was, other than the people in their little circle. Apparently, he wasn't the only rebellious figure who fought against the rulings of the Black King.

"It's alright bro, I'll be fine. Besides, I've got connections and my own brain to think up of something fast if I'm ever in a tight spot," Arthur snickered and grinned toothily. "So don't worry about me, I've got speed on my side which most people don't."

Smithy sighed, "But you also know that Council Charles won't always be able to come up with an excuse to save your hide, right? They're even becoming a bit suspicious about your uncle, Arthur. You _have_ to be careful, even for your uncle! Please?"

Arthur turned to Smithy. "Alright, if you're that concerned, then I will be careful next time," the blue hedgehog promised to the young blacksmith.

"You better because I don't think the Black King will go soft on those who oppose his government," Smithy proclaimed. Ending the conversation there, Smithy decided to get back to work with forging weapons for whoever wanted to buy his masterpieces. "Oh, and you can go back home, my shop isn't busy on days like this anyway."

"Are you sure you won't need any of my help later today?" Arthur asked just to make sure.

Smithy chuckled, "Don't worry Arthur, I got everything under control."

"If you say that then, I'll be out of your way," Arthur said as he backed out of the small shop, almost bumping into someone who seemed to want to get a look at Smithy's craftsmanship. "Whoa, sorry, ma'am," he apologized before turning around, but his wrist was firmly grabbed at before he could run off. Arthur turned to the stranger before noticing the clean white cotton gloves that reached up to the woman's forearm and the silk velvet cloak covering her figure.

"Uh...can I help you?" the confused blue hedgehog asked.

"I apologize for my rude behavior," the mysterious lady then removed her grip on Arthur's wrist, "but I'd like to have a talk with you in a more private place if you wouldn't mind that is."

She was very soft spoken and sounded as if she had great knowledge of the land and the world. Arthur believed that he'd seen her somewhere, maybe in a dream? He tended to flirt with girls whenever he was bored, he thought, but they were usually ladies that he knew and ones that didn't mind his occasional teasing. In addition, he couldn't quite remember who this particular woman was, and he usually remembered the faces of people he'd talked to.

"Well, if you want to talk, I guess my place could do, and I can escort you there, ma'am," Arthur said politely as he concentrated on the mysterious women's features, hoping that something would give away her identity.

The women sighed and shook her head, "This is an important matter. Your home is an obvious danger as to what I'll be talking to you about. Let's head into the Deep Woods, where the lake is located, there, we can have a nice conversation along with some fresh, hot tea." The mysterious lady seemed very happy to have mentioned tea and eager to talk to Arthur. To him, it must be something very important if it involved a private place, a talk, and some tea. He hoped it wasn't too important, like having to date a complete stranger—although his train of thought may be wrong.

"A lake in Deep Woods, huh? I never knew there was a lake in Deep Woods. Hmm, can you wait here just a sec? I'll have to gather a few things at my place so we will have some protection if we ever run into wild animals or danger of any sort," Arthur stated. "And it won't take long either, I'm super fast."

"I agree, and I'll be waiting here until you get back," she said, smiling.

Arthur chuckled, "Maybe you could go inside and wait, it's a lot cooler inside, and you wouldn't be catching a whole lot of attention either. I'm sure my friend wouldn't mind you being in there."

"I-Is my presence really a bother to the townspeople here?" the women asked in slight concern.

The teenaged hedgehog's ears perked and jumped into a defensive position, hoping that he didn't upset the lady. "N-No, that's not what I meant. It's just that the way you're dressed, it's really nice, and many people here don't really like nobles or anyone of high class, or anything that represents us, in this area," Arthur mumbled as he ended his statement, looking to the ground. "We stick out like a sore thumb."

Only then did the lady realize why the young noble would say such a thing to her. She smiled warmly as her eyes softened into admiration when she looked at Arthur. "May I ask you something?" she asked softly.

"Sure, fire away," he mumbled again, his eyes moving to look at her again.

"Do you care for the people in this kingdom? Do you care for the kingdom itself?" she asked softly, though they were questions that needed to be answered with full of thought and careful words.

The hedgehog's ears twitched as his eyes glinted a bit with a determination and happiness of someone who'd seemed to understand his feelings for Camelot and its current ruler. He didn't even have to think about his feelings for the kingdom; he already knew what he felt, and what he felt for Camelot was real.

"I want to make the citizens of this kingdom happy. I want to make everyone happy where no one has to suffer anymore, where no one has to continue to hate one another. Where no one has to sacrifice one another just to get what they want. I want to make this kingdom better than it was ever before. I'm tired of seeing the people of high and low having to discriminate against each other," he answered truthfully. "and I'm tired of the Black King. He is the one who created this whole discrimination situation."

The young lady's smile grew, her face brightening all the more as Arthur said every one of those words. They were bold and true, coming straight from his heart. He truly cared for this kingdom even though it wasn't his. "You speak as if you want to accomplish those goals even though you're so young," she just couldn't help but giggle. "But you are still very young and don't know much of the true ugliness that the world inhabits."

"Of course, I do!" Arthur hissed in anger as his fists clenched. Hearing those words just made him feel...anger, and he knew why. Being told that he didn't know a lot of the world and `it's true ugliness` was almost an insult to him after everything he'd just said to the lady in front of him. "I have seen and heard enough just from being in this kingdom... It's horrible..."

The young lady blinked in surprise. She certainly didn't expect to be shouted at, but she could understand why. "I am sorry to have upset you, though I will not take back what I said about you. It is true that you have seen darkness in the land of Camelot, but you have not yet even tried to see the darkness in yourself. You are still very inexperienced and naive of what goes on in the world, young 'un."

Arthur growled, but the lady continued her briefing, "But you are one who surprises me most, I really like you, and I'm sure that the citizens of Camelot will love you too. Now then, why don't you go and gather your things so we could talk and have some nice tea."

Arthur couldn't help but let out a small smile and nodded his head immediately, turning around and rushing off home to gather his things for the little trip into the woods.

* * *

They were deep into the woods now, and the sun was setting. In addition, they hadn't run into trouble. Arthur wondered why because he always had random encounters with thieves, fake soldiers and wild animals when traversing in Deep Woods. While thinking of this, he had hoped that he wouldn't be staying out for too long. His uncle never really liked it when he stayed out for too long.

"So, why do you want to have tea with me in the middle of the woods?" Arthur asked for the third time, which, would most, likely be ignored again. The teenager had tried to pry the answer out from the women ever since they had started their trek into Deep Woods. He had changed his outfit to one that worked for going outdoors and hunting. He had a belt that held some handy tools, i.e. a dagger, and a strap that held his scabbard and the sword sheathed in it.

Both Arthur and woman, who still wouldn't reveal herself or her name, were walking side by side each other. The woman was especially interested in the sword that Arthur is carrying. She had seen that sword before, but she couldn't quite remember when. "Does that sword have a name?" she asked curiously while still staring at the sword interestingly.

"Yeah, his name is Caliburn," Arthur answered.

"His?"

Arthur's ears lowered, "Smithy and my uncle told me not to ever talk about this sword to others because of its special capabilities..."

Then, something clicked in the young lady's head. She did know of the sword Caliburn: the legendary sword that could foretell of a hero who would bring great peace and justice to the land and happiness to all. But the sword was supposed to be someplace where nobody could reach by foot, and if someone was able to pass it, then there would a dragon that the retriever would have to face. Could it have really been Arthur to retrieve _that_ legendary sword?

"Where did you get that sword?" the mysteriously lady asked.

"Misty Lake." Alright, there was no doubt about it. The sword that Arthur carries really is Caliburn.

"How well are you with a sword?" she asked again.

"I guess you could say I'm talented with one," he said with full of pride. Arthur was improving day by day thanks to some sparring and training with the Knights of the Round Table every now and then, and then there were those times when he went out on his own adventures.

"Then, would it be alright if I test your skills?" she asked, grinning.

Arthur's ears perked straight up, his eyes widening. "W-What?! M-Me, f-fight you?! What if you g-get hurt? O-Or –"

The other smiled and laughed, "No, no, that's not what I meant." Arthur then tilted his head in confusion but was, yet, very curious about what the woman meant. "What I meant was, I'll send you off on a mission, and then, I'll see if you're as worthy as you say you are, along with how worthy you are of using that sword."

The blue hedgehog chuckled, "Yeah, I'll take up any one of the `missions` you have in store for me. I am sure that I'll be able to come back unscathed."

The young lady sighed, "This isn't going to be some miniature task like retrieving a handkerchief for me."

Arthur felt a bit embarrassed when the other said that the mission wasn't going to be a small task and chuckled sheepishly afterwards. Even though the missions weren't going to be easy as she said they were, he'll be looking forward to the adventure. He guaranteed that it would be fun for him. "So, what do you have in store for me, ma'am?" he asked.

"Not yet child, right now we'll be conversing and having tea. We're almost at our appointed destination," the other said calmly.

"Oh, okay." Thinking that the conversation ended there, he looked around at the woods and realized that he hadn't been in this area at all. He wondered how he would find his way back home now, even if he could trace his way back, it would be difficult because he wasn't familiar with this part of the woods.

He blinked when he saw the woman stop in front of the lake that she mentioned earlier. "We're here," she said plainly.

This caught Arthur's attention, and he looked around. The lake was beautiful with the sun nearly hiding behind the trees of the deep woods. While looking around, he'd hoped to see something set up for the both of them to have a seat and wondered where she'd be getting the tea and so on, but he couldn't see any signs that anyone was here at all. "Uh, are you sure we're at the right spot?" he asked confusedly, still looking around.

The lady giggled, "Just stand back, and I'll do the rest." Doing just as she said, the hedgehog reluctantly stepped back a few steps because he was not to ever leave a woman's side in case they were in danger—or so he was taught. The lady then removed the hood of her cloak, revealing her soft pink fur and quills.

She raised both of her arms and chanted a soothing spell that had the lake grumbling underneath them. Arthur stood in surprise as he stared at the lake, his eyes averting back and forth between the mysterious, magical woman and the lake. Soon, a path of stone rose up from underneath the lake, following up with a small little villa with a table set with chairs. Squinting his eyes, he saw tea set up on the table, and they do look freshly made, but by whom?

Not a moment too soon, he realized something just as the woman finished summoning her little picnic at the lake. "Wait...are you...the Lady of the Lake?" Arthur asked cautiously as he looked over the mysterious woman again. There were times when he'd heard stories of the Lady of th Lake, but he had never thought that she would leave her lake.

Since the other's cloak was off, he was able to see her blue dress, her aqua green eyes that seemed to reflect the mysteriousness of water itself, and the gorgeous headband that held back her quills.

"Ah, yes, I apologize for not introducing myself earlier. I am, indeed, the Lady of the Lake, Nimue. You don't have to be in alert, I don't intend to harm you in anyway. Just like I said back in town, I only want to have a nice conversation with you," the lady said, turn around to face Arthur again.

The teenager's ears perked and kneeled, looking to the ground, in front of her, "I'm sorry for any trouble I have caused you and for the disrespectful behavior I have shown you."

"Please, don't give me such courteous greetings, it's way past that time now," the once mysterious lady, now known as Nimue, said softly. "Now rise, young 'un."

Arthur did just as Nimue instructed, "Oh, I don't think I've introduced myself. I am–"

"You don't have to tell me your name, I already know all about you. You're Arthur Pendragon," the Lady of the Lake said.

"Arthur Pendragon, a 17 year-old hedgehog, currently lives with his uncle, Charles Pendragon, who works close to the Black King as one of the many council members of Camelot. Of course, being the nephew of such a figure like a council member, you didn't have much freedom to do anything, plus the fact that you didn't want to ruin your uncle's reputation as a council member," Nimue said before glancing at Arthur, who was surprised at her breadth of knowledge about him.

She then outstretched her arm for the other to head down the path that she'd just opened up. "Now, why don't we have some tea. We've waited quite long enough for some, haven't we?" she giggled along with Arthur who could only chuckle, though he sounded nervous as he headed down the lovely stone path.

Now, the young hedgehog was worried about what else she knew about him. He hoped that she wouldn't disapprove of what he was doing now with going against the Black King and all. Nimue sensed the worry from Arthur and smiled softly, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone of what you're up to," Nimue reassured the young hedgehog. "I know that you are the hooded hero who saves Camelot's citizens from the Black King as he plans his future schemes for the kingdom in secretive."

"You...really think that what I'm doing is...right?" he asked. "I mean, you know more about the history of the land and its people more than I do, so I thought that...maybe you may know how I'm supposed to reach my goal." The blue hedgehog then took a seat on one of the open chairs, surprised that it wasn't wet from being underwater. He was starting to be quite curious to how magic works.

Nimue then took the seat opposite of Arthur as she took in what her guest had just asked her. She straightened her dress when she sat down and set her hands in her lap, clasped together. "What do you think, Arthur? Dear friends, loving family members, and the people you treasure are willing to support you surround you. You know what you're fighting for, so isn't that a good enough reason for the `right` thing? Besides, you have to find your own paths to help you get to your goals," Nimue answered.

Arthur blinked as he tried to let what Nimue just said sink in. "Yeah, I believe you're right. I should have more confidence in what I'm doing. I mean, I already told you what I want to fight for and what I want for the kingdom, so I should just do it." He felt a lot more confidence in what he was doing, plus, a lot more comfortable just talking to her. She had a lot of understanding about what he was going through, and he was glad that he was able to talk to her. Nimue was always so calm and she spoke with such grace.

"Thank you, Nimue, the Lady of the Lake," Arthur said happily.

Nimue blushed softly and smiled at the warmth in her heart; she'd never been thanked before, and she liked it. "You don't need to thank me Arthur," she said as she tried to force the blush away by drinking some warm tea, "but before you go, could you take out Caliburn for me?"

"Why? Do you need to talk to him about something?" Arthur asked, taking a hold of Caliburn.

"Yes, indeed," Nimue answered, nodding her head.

"Uh, is it a private matter, or can I stay and listen?"

"You can stay." With that said, Arthur took Caliburn out of his scabbard and placed him against the glass table.

After a few seconds, the sword came to life, standing up on its own—or perhaps, his own. Caliburn's burning blue eyes opened, and he was surprised to be in the presence of the Lady of the Lake when his vision cleared, again, but he was pleased nonetheless.

"It has been awhile, hasn't it Nimue, Lady of the Lake," Caliburn greeted, bowing in his own special way before turning his attention to Arthur. "I hope the knave of a swordsman hasn't troubled you so."

"Hey!" Arthur cut in, not very pleased with how Caliburn treated him. "I'll let you know that I treated Lady Nimue politely, and I'm certainly _not_ a knave!"

Nimue giggled, "I trust that the both of you are at least getting along?"

"Yes, we do, whenever he isn't showing off his supposed `great` sword skills to others who do and do not know a thing about sword fighting," Caliburn answered as he sneered, and Arthur just rolled his eyes.

"But I do believe that he is unbelievably a good person at heart," the legendary sword then added which only caused Arthur to smirk.

"Ah, so you do like me," Arthur mocked which only annoyed Caliburn.

"Don't make me take back what I just said, but this is no time to be fighting. I am sure that the Lady of the Lake has something very important to talk to the both of us if she asked for you to unsheathe me from my scabbard."

Arthur blinked, his ears twitching, before turning his attention to Lady Nimue, along with Caliburn. Both of them ready to listen to her, though right now, she was happily taking her time sipping her tea before setting it back down on the table.

"As I had mentioned before, to test not only your skills as a swordsman but your passion to be the hero of Camelot, I need you to do three missions for me," Nimue stated.

"Three missions? That's going to be a piece of cake!" Arthur exclaimed.

"You fool, don't underestimate missions of quantity or quality, especially ones coming from the Lady of the Lake herself," Caliburn interjected.

"I'll give you three weeks to finish all three of the missions, and don't worry, today won't count as the days in your three weeks. The countdown will start by midnight of tomorrow, so gather any food, tools, or anything you need for the journey, along with notifying friends and family," Nimue informed.

Arthur nodded before asking, "So, what are the missions?"

"First, free the innocent in the Black King's prison. Second, head to the outskirts of Camelot and visit the three villages there, and give money to those in need. Third, investigate the mines in Crystal Cave," Nimue ended it there. "After finishing all three, come back here before the three weeks are up."


End file.
